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Showing posts from July, 2016

Suburb Guide: Maroochy River

View of the Maroochy River from the summit of Mount Ninderry. Connecting the forested slopes of the Blackall Ranges to the glittering coastline at Maroochydore, the Maroochy River is an important part of the Sunshine Coast’s natural heritage. Named after an Aboriginal legend , the river has also lent its name to a rural and low-density residential suburb that straddles either side of its shores in the upper estuary area. To avoid confusion for the rest of this article, the name ‘Maroochy River’ will refer to the suburb specifically. Featured areas: (1) Suburban Maroochy River, (2) Highlands Hill Reserve, (3) Dunethin Rock, (4) Mount Ninderry Bushland Conservation Park, (5) River Road; Image courtesy of Google Maps. Originally the cherished homeland of the Kabi Kabi people, the Maroochy River area was quickly recognised by European settlers as a place of great fertility, and to this day it is still used largely for farming purposes, particularly sugar cane (Saccharum offic

The rain in Bris-bane falls mainly on the... escarpment.

Grey shrike-thrush, Keperra. The rain didn’t deter me from spending last Saturday morning up on the Keperra escarpment, and if anything, it seemed to embolden the birds!

The bats are back in town

Black flying-foxes, Herston. During a bird survey at Rasey Park on the weekend, I found a colony of black-flying foxes (Pteropus alecto) in the mangroves lining Breakfast Creek. The sight was a relief: earlier last month, the Brisbane Times reported on the mysterious disappearance of South-east Queensland’s flying-foxes , as observed by Gold Coast bat expert, Trish Wimberley.